The Regulatory State Grew to Record Levels in 2015, and the Red-Tape Burden Will Get even Worse in 2016

For those of us worried (with good reason!) about excessive regulation and red tape, 2015 was not a good year.

As you can see from the headline of this story in the Washington Examiner, federal bureaucrats were very busy imposing new mandates and restrictions on the economy. Indeed, President Obama now has the cumulative record for red tape.

And to put the numbers in context, here’s a chart from the folks at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. On the left side, it shows the biggest red-tape year for every President before Obama. And then on the right side, it shows how Obama is consistently meeting or exceeding prior records.

All this bad news might be somewhat bearable if there was some reason to think we were turning a corner and that the worst was behind us.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Let’s now share another headline, this time from a report in The Hill.

The bottom line is that the Obama Administration is openly excited about the prospect of building upon the President’s dubious red-tape record.

Though I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. If you read the story, you’ll see that next year will be a perfect storm of pro-regulation bureaucrats being egged on by Obama’s regulatory appointees who see 2016 as their last chance to impose additional red tape on the economy’s productive sector.

But the private sector will become less dynamic as we become more like Greece. Here are some very depressing bits of information I’ve shared in the past.

[…] But these good things weren’t random. They happened because Reagan made big positive changes in policy. He tamed inflation. He slashed tax rates. He substantially reduced the burden of domestic spending. He curtailed red tape. […]

[…] But these good things weren’t random. They happened because Reagan made big positive changes in policy. He tamed inflation. He slashed tax rates. He substantially reduced the burden of domestic spending. He curtailed red tape. […]

[…] By the way, while I think Pethokoukis shared some worthwhile charts, I would have augmented his list with charts on the rising burden of government spending, the tax code’s discrimination against income that is saved and invested, declining labor-force participation, changes in economic freedom, and the ever-expanding regulatory burden. […]

[…] By the way, while I think Pethokoukis shared some worthwhile charts, I would have augmented his list with charts on the rising burden of government spending, the tax code’s discrimination against income that is saved and invested, declining labor-force participation, changes in economic freedom, and the ever-expanding regulatory burden. […]

Most regulatory/compliance issues relate to the tax code and welfare. You cannot replace the tax code with a flat tax without adding progressivity through either a standard deduction or a prebate. You cannot get rid of welfare without substituting an alternative like a basic income/substantial prebate.

By combining a flat tax with a prebate [100% of the poverty level] that cannot be lost based on income levels, you could eliminate half of the current compliance problem along with 1,000,000 federal bureaucrats and their regulatory requirements. This would cost no more than we are currently paying. And, it would change a dependent society into one where individuals become responsible for their own welfare.

However, because “a flat tax” is a negative trigger for the left and a “basic income” is a negative trigger for the right; this common sense approach cannot get off the ground.

Government is configured to expand. Because of interest group politics, cuts to welfare or entitlements will not happen without dramatic change. Alternatives that assume we can stop this momentum are like the economist on a desert island trying to open a can of food, by assuming a can opener.

“There is one problem with this: The FAA is acting contrary to a law that Congress passed in 2012, which prevents the FAA from doing what it has now done by proactively banning it from regulating model aircraft—including drones when they are used for recreational or hobby purposes.

Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 states:

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to the incorporation of unmanned aircraft systems in Federal Aviation Administration plans and policies, including this subtitle, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft, or an aircraft being developed as a model aircraft[.]”

” As of Dec. 21, failing to register a drone that weighs more than 0.55 pounds—roughly the weight of two sticks of butter—can land you in jail for up to three years and subject you to $27,500 in civil penalties and $250,000 in criminal fines.”